Business

The Pros and Cons of Passive Job Seekers

There's a common quandary for the first-time job seeker, whether a 16-year-old looking for summer work or a college graduate who focused on studies rather than internships. "We want someone with experience," employers say, but one must get hired to attain such experience.

A similar dilemma presents itself to people who are unemployed: There's a trend towards hiring passive job seekers, defined as someone who currently has a job but would be open to taking a better one.

To attract recruiters, LinkedIn boasts on its website that 30% of job listing views are from passive job seekers.

Almost one out of five people who are currently employed say they've been approached by a recruiter for a position they did not apply for.

Why Are Passive Job Seekers Desired?

Job seekers who are currently employed are at an advantage, due both to their own resourcefulness as well as existing stereotypes.

"They typically take their careers and jobs very seriously," says career coach Megan Pittsley-Fox. "They tend find a new job before leaving their current one and/or they pay keen attention to what is going on in their own organization so they can find a new role if they smell layoffs coming."

Another reason these passive job seekers are perceived as more attractive, explains a blog post by Intuit, is that these passive job seekers are currently gaining experience.

If you are long-term unemployed, Pittsley-Fox has a few tips. She recommends working with a resume writer or career coach to find out what might be going wrong with the job search. Also, continue to develop skills through training opportunities and volunteer or contract while looking to fill the gap.

"It's important that your resume displays what you are currently doing with your time."

Another way to stay "in the game" is to join a news-focused social network. News applications such as Delve, Quibb or Flud* are built for keeping up on industry-specific news. It's an easy way to show potential employers that you may not be in an office each day, but you are on top of the latest technology and information in your industry.

Challenges of Passive Candidates

Looking up the current employees of a competitor on LinkedIn and systematically sending messages to recruit them is often called poaching. In some situations, it may be ill-mannered, but LinkedIn, with its detailed search functions, is an effective way to discover talent.

Jani Strand, VP of public relations at Redfin, says she found her ideal candidate on LinkedIn. "It’s a great way to target exactly what you are looking for," she says, "but then actually closing the deal is more difficult."

As much as someone might be open to taking on a more challenging position, at a bigger company, or a larger role at a small company — taking a new job feels like buying a high-pricetag product that you might not be able to return.

"People who are comfortable in their current jobs have a deep-seated worry that they could be giving up something that makes them happy if they move to a new company," says Bridget Frey, VP of engineering at Redfin. "The more they know about the new opportunity — the people, the office, the mission — the less risky it will seem to them."

Taralee Brady, manager of talent acquisition at Go Daddy, says her most effective recruiting comes from LinkedIn, or through referrals from current employees. While employed candidates are perceived as having proven experience (they've perhaps survived layoffs), she doesn't rule out unemployed candidates.

"We don't ask who is looking for a job — we ask who would be great at the job, and reach out to them — whether they're working or not."

Mashable Job Board Listings

The Mashable Job Board connects job seekers across the U.S. with unique career opportunities in the digital space. While we publish a wide range of job listings, we have selected a few job opportunities from the past two weeks to help get you started. Happy hunting!

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